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Campus survey may yield insight into UH

By Nikie Johnson
Senior Staff Writer

How much do you know about your peers? Do they actually fit the image most people have of UH students? How much do they resemble students on other campuses?

Two sociology professors and their classes set out to answer those questions this semester by surveying almost 500 students, asking them who they were, what they thought of UH, how they interacted with the world around them and what they thought of the outside world.

Some of the results, the professors say, fit in with what they expected. Some defy stereotypes. Some show just how different UH is from other schools. Some indicate that young people of today are different from young people of previous generations.

Associate professor Jackie Hagan and assistant professor Jenifer Bratter had students from their Introduction to Sociology classes design and administer an 88-question survey.

"Our students have invested a whole lot of time in this," Hagan said. She and Bratter said students were reluctant at first to start such a large undertaking in an intro class, but they got very interested in the project as it progressed.

The students got 484 responses, which Hagan and Bratter said is a good sample for a population of about 34,000 students. They said the sample was quite representative of the student population, although it was not done randomly.

The questions were organized into seven categories: basic demographics, educational experience, campus life, inter-group relations, student autonomy, sexual attitudes and practices and current affairs. For some of the questions, students could look at how respondents differed based on characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and religious beliefs, which Bratter and Hagan said provided some interesting insights.

Almost 80 percent of respondents were between 17 and 22 years old, and another 14.5 percent were 23 to 25 years old. By ethnicity, the respondents were close to the general UH population: 38 percent said they were white or European, 22 percent black, 19 percent Hispanic or Latino, 11 percent Asian or Pacific Islander and 6 percent Middle Eastern or Asian Indian.

The most prevalent religion among respondents was Catholicism, with 31 percent. Protestants made up 28.7 percent of the sample, 12.8 percent were non-denominational, 5 percent were Muslim, 4.3 percent were Buddhist or Hindu, 4.1 percent were atheist or agnostic, 2.1 percent were Jewish, 1.4 percent were Mormon, and the rest didnit answer.

Almost half of respondents lived off campus with their parents. About a quarter lived in the residence halls or on-campus apartments (slightly higher than the total campus average), and one-fifth lived off-campus without their families. About 8 percent lived with a spouse, partner or children.

Of those questioned, 90.7 percent had never been married, 4.3 percent were married and 2.9 percent were divorced, separated or widowed. The majority of respondents, 90.3 percent, didnit have children.

Although UH is primarily a commuter school, most respondents were not transfer students (70 percent) and were full-time students (82.6 percent). Almost half (45.7 percent) thought students should complete their undergraduate careers in three to four years. Most were employed, but less than 15 percent were working full time. Most respondents, 46.9 percent, worked part time and 37.4 didnit have a job.

For an in-depth look at what students think of campus life, the education they are getting, sex, diversity, credit cards, Iraq and more, look for the rest of The Daily Cougaris series on this survey.
 

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